Damian Callinan in "mmm... they're small"

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National stereotypes are something that people seldom believe to be true when applied to themselves. However, Australian comedian Damian Callinan has proven irrefutably that Brits just won’t talk about their private parts with a group of complete strangers.

Sat among a pathetic audience of just five people (two venue staff, one PR, myself and a single paying punter), Callinan’s attempts at encouraging audience participation are tantamount to torture. When watching a couple of poor souls in the front row being asked how large their testicles are in the relative safety of a large pack, you are free to chuckle to your heart’s content. But when there is a 100 per cent chance that you are to be picked on, the only sensation is dread.

Although the show is predominantly about male genitalia, it is—perhaps surprisingly—neither crass nor stupid. More surprisingly yet, it is never monotonous. Set during a group therapy session for infertile men, Mmm, They’re Small, is an often sensitive portrayal of a damaged masculinity told through a series of awkward flash-backs. Though audience participation forms a large part of the show, some of the set pieces are genuinely brilliant. I found myself having to contain an attack of the giggles—an admittedly bizarre response to a comedy show—after an hilarious anecdote about foul mouthed foster children.

Callinan is a very sympathetic performer, and one that is inherently likable. Though his act is on a little early in the day to attract the swathes of drunken young men that would constitute his ideal audience, it could be sensational provided a reasonable number of people turn up.